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Big 5 Rivalry Game On Tap As Women's Basketball Travels To St. Joe's

Khristin Lee, Indigo Dickens, Micahya Owens

Women's Basketball | February 4, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team wraps up the Big 5 schedule on Wednesday night when the Explorers head across town to Saint Joseph's for a 7pm tip at Hagan Arena.

La Salle Explorers (11-10, 2-6 Atlantic 10) at Saint Joseph's Hawks (7-13, 3-5 Atlantic 10)
Wednesday, Feb. 4 | 7:00 PM | Hagan Arena
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Game Notes
La Salle | Saint Joseph's

Video Stream
Wednesday's contest at Saint Joseph's will be streamed on the A-10 Digital Network.

All-Time Series vs. Hawks
St. Joe's is one of the oldest Explorer rivals, with a series that dates back to the early days of the program in 1973. The Hawks have dominated the series, winning 40 of the 49 meetings. The Explorers will have the opportunity on Wednesday night to snap an 11-game win streak by the Hawks. The squads met twice last season, with the Hawks winning 64-52 and 76-63. Wednesday's contest marks the first of two this season, and will count in the official Big 5 standings.

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers snapped a six-game skid with a convincing 74-65 win over VCU on Saturday, defeating a Ram squad that had won 13 of its last 14 home games. Ebony Wells stepped up with a career-high 17 points and Amy Griffin added 13 points off the bench. Both went 6-for-10 from the field, and Wells added a 2-for-3 performance from long range. Griffin had a solid all-around game; she added three assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals to her 13 points. Khristin Lee added eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. The squad was down two key players - Siobhan Beslow and Lisa Mintzer - who are listed as day-to-day with injuries.

The 1,000-point watch continues for redshirt senior Alicia Cropper, who needs just eight more to reach the milestone. Her 992 career points includes 321 points in two years at Providence and 671 in her two years as an Explorer.

The Explorers look to start fresh in February after a 2-6 January, although the month ended on a very high and promising note at VCU. The squad was shooting 37.0 percent from long range through the end of December before hitting just 23.7 percent since the start of January, marking the biggest statistical change. The Explorers were ranked as high as second in the A-10 in three-point shooting while going 9-4 in nonconference play.

Offensively, Micahya Owens still leads the team with 13.7 ppg while adding 3.3 rpg and 1.9 apg. Cropper is averaging 12.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg and is second on the team with 2.6 apg. Beslow continues to round out the top three scorers with 7.8 ppg, although her numbers significantly jumped in A-10 play. She averaged 8.7 ppg in January, up from 7.2 ppg prior, and also increased her field goal percentage from 44.0 percent to 51.0 percent in that time.

Jasmine Alston continues to provide quality minutes on both sides of the ball, chipping in 6.2 ppg but really making her mark defensively. The sophomore has led the Atlantic 10 in all but one week this season in steals per game, and currently sits atop the league with 2.5 thefts per game. She has also consistently ranked in the top 15 in assists per game, and is currently tied for 12th with a team-best 3.2 helpers.

As a team, the Explorers are averaging 62.4 ppg while giving up 64.5. They also pull down 39.9 rpg to opponents' 41.7 rpg. They have done a terrific job of limiting turnovers, as they lead all A-10 teams with a +4.25 turnover margin against league foes.

Scouting the Hawks
The Hawks have struggled to find their way this season after heavy losses to graduation last year. They have been unable to replace the scoring and leadership of point guard Erin Shields, last year's Big 5 leading scorer (14.7 ppg, 3.3 apg), and also lost starters Ilze Gotfrida (8.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Kelsey Berger (6.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg) from last year's 23-10 squad that earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Hawks come into Wednesday's game with a 7-13 overall record and 3-5 Atlantic 10 record after splitting their last two contests. They were edged 52-51 at Saint Louis on Jan. 29 before defeating Davidson 57-52 on Saturday.

Ciara Andrews leads the team with 13.2 ppg while adding 3.4 rpg. 2014 Atlantic 10 Defender of the Year Natasha Cloud is back for her final season, and is averaging 12.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg and a league-high 6.5 apg against A-10 foes. Sarah Fairbanks and Kathleen Fitzpatrick round out the top four with matching 9.7 ppg outputs. Fairbanks also leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game.

The Hawks are averaging 60.2 ppg, down from last year's 71.5, while yielding 63.3 to opponents. They are shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from long range. They are also shooting just 64.8 percent at the free throw line in A-10 play after going 80.1 percent at the charity stripe last season.

Next Up
The Explorers return home on Saturday for the second game of this year's home-and-home series with Massachusetts. Tipoff against the Minutewomen is set for 1pm at Tom Gola Arena.
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Players Mentioned

Jasmine Alston

#11 Jasmine Alston

G
5' 9"
Sophomore
Siobhan Beslow

#2 Siobhan Beslow

F
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Alicia Cropper

#14 Alicia Cropper

G
5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Khristin Lee

#3 Khristin Lee

G
5' 9"
Graduate Student
Lisa Mintzer

#55 Lisa Mintzer

F
6' 4"
Sophomore
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

G/F
6' 1"
Freshman
Ebony Wells

#31 Ebony Wells

F/C
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Alston

#11 Jasmine Alston

5' 9"
Sophomore
G
Siobhan Beslow

#2 Siobhan Beslow

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
F
Alicia Cropper

#14 Alicia Cropper

5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
G
Khristin Lee

#3 Khristin Lee

5' 9"
Graduate Student
G
Lisa Mintzer

#55 Lisa Mintzer

6' 4"
Sophomore
F
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

6' 1"
Freshman
G/F
Ebony Wells

#31 Ebony Wells

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
F/C